In the first quarter of 2018, Google still reported big profit despite the noise around the data security issues.
According to the company's parent company, Google Inc., which reported earnings of $ 9.4 billion for the first three months of this year, nearly doubled from $ 5.4 billion in the same period last year. before, the newspaper VnEconomy reported.
Alphabet has good results thanks to the strong momentum of the ad segment. In the quarter, the company's revenue increased 26% to $ 31.1 billion, of which advertising accounted for $ 26.6 billion.
According to CNN, in the quarter, the company also benefited greatly from the tax reform of US President Donald Trump. Accordingly, the corporate income tax will be reduced from 20% last year to 11%.
Google profits rise thanks to new US tax
Google is the first major technology company to announce business results following a scandal involving user data related to Facebook's Cambridge Analytica. While "public opinion hammer" directed at the world's largest social network, shares of technology companies such as Google, Twitter are also "blaming". These are the companies that make the most money by collecting personal data for targeted advertising.
According to the Investment Review, the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke out in mid-March, so it may not have much impact on the financial results of the first quarter of technology companies. However, Wall Street is still fearing an increase in regulatory tightening for technology firms. Politicians in many countries have begun to take privacy concerns into account.
A new law on user data protection, called the General Data Protection Regulation (GNP), will take effect across the EU at the end of next month. Goldman Sachs analyst estimates that the new bill could drive Google's ad revenue down 2%.
In a meeting with analysts on Monday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai lowered the potential impact of GDPR as the bulk of Google's advertising revenue comes from search-served ads. "Very limited information" from the user.
"We are focusing on adherence to these regulations," Pichai said. Google has spent the last 18 months exploring GDPR.
Meanwhile, Youtube, one of Google's major monetization tools, continues to struggle with ads appearing on videos with bad content. Recently, CNN said that YouTube is running ads for hundreds of brands on channels containing extreme content. "We are actively working on content that violates Google's strict policies," said Pichai.